First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons™ Character Creation...another useful RPG site from M. J. Young NetAD&D Character Class: Magic-User

The magic-user is the prototypical spell caster in the Dungeons & Dragons game. They draw upon the arcane powers of the inner and outer planes to work magic. To do this, they exercise their superior intelligence, which must be at least 9; the higher the character's intelligence, the greater the variety of spells from which to draw. Other ability scores--especially dexterity--must be at least 6, except that strength may be as low as 3, and there is no minimum on comeliness. If the character's intelligence is at least 16, he gains a 10% bonus on experience.

Their combat abilities outside magic are very weak. They get only d4 hit points per level, and have the worst combat table and the greatest non-proficiency penalty. They are not allowed to wear armor (which interferes with their magical skills), and have very few weapons from which to choose. They are not restricted in alignment.

The Arcana rules give significant details related to magic-user apprenticeships; however, it is generally agreed that player characters begin at first level, with their limited spell book and an armful of cantrips, simple spells of limited power learned and used during the apprenticeship. Although these cantrips are not intended to be powerful, the resourceful player can often find valuable uses for them. Spells are discovered and collected in multiple books as the character progresses. However, there is a distinction between the spells the character can learn, the spells in his books, and the spells he "knows". A die roll based on the character intelligence determines what spells a character can learn; some referees require a character to make these rolls immediately upon reaching the level at which the spells may be cast, while others expect the player to make the roll for each spell when it is discovered. (Since the rules suggest that a character who has tested for every spell available at a given level but not reached the minimum for his intelligence may re-check spells until the minimum is reached, MyWorld rules require the check to be made at the time the spells become knowable, to determine which spells the character should seek; there is a strong argument to the contrary, in that a character would not know what spells he could know until he finds them.) But the spells a character can learn are not much use until he has copies of them in his spell book--and magic users start with only four spells in their books, and must find the rest through adventures. Even more limiting, the character must memorize spells in order to be able to cast them, and is limited in the number and level of the spells he can know at any moment. A first level magic user can memorize only one spell of the first level; he can instead memorize four cantrips, if he desires.

Within the realm of the game, magic-users are presumed to cast spells by pronouncing them aloud. This refers to the character's actions within the game world, not the player's actions at the gaming table.

Magic users use many magic items. Many scrolls, wands, staves, and miscellaneous magic items are restricted to use by this class or the closely-related Wizards of High Sorcery only. High-level magic-users are extremely powerful--if they can live long enough to reach those levels.

Eleventh level and higher magic-users can create many magic items themselves. This is a time-intensive process, taking weeks or possibly months to complete. At this level also the character is permitted to build a stronghold and establish himself as a nobleman over a territory which he clears and defends.

Advancement table:

Experience

Level

Level Title

0

2500

1

Prestidigitator

2501

5000

2

Evoker

5001

10000

3

Conjurer

10001

22500

4

Theurgist

22501

40000

5

Thaumaturgist

40001

60000

6

Magician

60001

90000

7

Enchanter

90001

135000

8

Warlock

135001

250000

9

Sorcerer

250001

375000

10

Necromancer

375001

750000

11

Wizard

750001

1125000

12

1125001

1500000

13

1500001

1875000

14

1875001

2250000

15

2250001

2625000

16

Mage

2625001

3000000

17

3000001

3375000

18

Arch-Mage

375000 xp/level above the 18th.

Occidental humans, elves, and half-elves may be magic-users; many Krynn characters may by magic-users, but this is unusual, as such magic-users are regarded as renegade enemies of the very powerful Wizards of High Sorcery.

The Multiverser Information CenterThe complexity of creating a D&D character always reminds me of how much simpler it is to play Multiverser®, the game which incorporates all other games, all other worlds, everything imaginable, with nothing else to buy.

A consideration of time travel....

Temporal Anomalies in Popular MoviesThere are enough time travel films out there now that most of the things which could go wrong in time have been shown on the silver screen. This page applies a new conception of how time works (discussed in the Multiverser® game system to help referees sort out game scenarios in which player characters travel in time) to unraveling the most popular of such movies. An Event Horizon Hot Spot and Sci Fi Weekly Site of the Week which has won the author national recognition as an authority on time travel in fiction.